The Scotts are back in town

It has been a long journey, in every sense of the word, for us to finally get here. The flights themselves were the usual unspeakable experience, especially the overnight journey from Schipol to Nairobi. When we did finally arrive in Ndola, Zambia we discovered that one of our cases had gone sight-seeing in Nairobi and missed the flight. Happily it found its way to us a couple of days later.

From what we have been reading in the news, the weather has turned cold in Ireland, so I don’t suppose that anyone really wants to hear about sunshine, temperatures of 30 degrees or so, and, as it is rainy season, spectacular tropical rain and thunderstorms.

People here seemed to be genuinely delighted to have us back amongst them. As we drove into the Seminary, Fr. Francis, the Seminary Rector, said “Welcome home”. His wife, Shelter, greeted us as we stepped out of the car with the same words. And it did feel a bit like that, a homecoming after a long absence. Other people we knew in the past also soon heard that we were back and have come to greet us. We are very moved by their warmth and welcome.

In many ways things are familiar, but there are some significant changes. Kitwe is busier, the traffic is more dreadful and the roads have become worse. It’s remarkably dangerous to drive out there and we would value prayer for our safety on the roads as we travel about in our not so nearly new vehicle.

This week has been hectic, as we have been acclimatising to the heat, noise, insects and all the frustrations and challenges of living in a majority world country. We have power cuts pretty much every day, and getting the water to come out of the taps is challenging, to say the least. Happily, this last problem will soon pass as we will be moving from our temporary accommodation into our own home, our old house, next door to Fr. Francis. At least the water supply there is a good deal better: a legacy of funding raised by and channeled through CMSI to build a water tower for the Seminary, which Keith supervised and Ronnie Briggs advised on about 10 years ago.

We have also had all the other challenges of moving to a different country and furnishing a completely empty house. So much more is available in Kitwe than was the case eight years ago when we left, and we have been running around the shops buying all those important things, like beds and tables and chairs. We have also set up a bank account and manage to buy a car. None of this could have been achieved without the support and generosity of our many friends here and in Ireland.

Shelter, Fr. Francis’ wife, has allowed us to use her car until we got one of our own. And now we have one. That almost new (well 14 years old) vehicle was introduced to us by another old friend, Brian Malama, whose wedding we attended many years ago, and who named his third son after Keith.

More thoughts and stories from Southern Africa will follow. Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to settle in and start the real work of teaching in three weeks time.

Hello there! So glad you made it back home, and have received such a warm (in 2 ways) welcome! Good that the errant suitcase did catch up and you have 4 wheels, some furniture and are surrounded by friends! We will watch this space with interest and prayer! God bless you both

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